the Talking Can
10-02-2004, 06:17 PM
that Bush is "politicizing" the Iraqi elections in order to get elected.
Kroll Inc, provides daily reports on the situation in Iraq...the White House moved to suppress the distribution of some its reports because they contradicted the White House's fantastic view of Iraq. This was reported in the Washington Post:
U.S. Effort Aims to Improve Opinions About Iraq Conflict
By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 30, 2004; Page A20
The Bush administration, battling negative perceptions of the Iraq war, is sending Iraqi Americans to deliver what the Pentagon calls "good news" about Iraq to U.S. military bases, and has curtailed distribution of reports showing increasing violence in that country.
The unusual public-relations effort by the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development comes as details have emerged showing the U.S. government and a representative of President Bush's reelection campaign had been heavily involved in drafting the speech given to Congress last week by interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Combined, they indicate that the federal government is working assiduously to improve Americans' opinions about the Iraq conflict -- a key element of Bush's reelection message.
USAID said this week that it will restrict distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security International showing that the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq has increased. On Monday, a day after The Washington Post published a front-page story saying that "the Kroll reports suggest a broad and intensifying campaign of insurgent violence," a USAID official sent an e-mail to congressional aides stating: "This is the last Kroll report to come in. After the WPost story, they shut it down in order to regroup. I'll let you know when it restarts."......
--------------------------------------
so this is a summary from the Kroll Middle East Risk Monitor on Sept. 30th, found here in PDF format Kroll.... (http://www.krollworldwide.com/about/library/merm/)
here is a link to the PDF (I think) Kroll report PDF (http://www.krollworldwide.com/library/merm/MERM_09_30_2004.pdf)
and here is the passage in question:
Iraq: Pessimism Over Election Prospects Continues to Grow
Doubts continued to grow this week over whether elections can take place in January as planned against the current backdrop of relentless violence.
With leading religious figures and political parties voicing doubts or open opposition, prospects for the planned election of a 275-seat constitutional assembly in January receded this week. The leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, warned Iraq has not yet met conditions for fair elections and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a major Shiite political party, also advised against holding the ballot, questioning its legitimacy. The influential Sunni Muslim Committee of Scholars also expressed grave reservations, while the renegade Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for a boycott.
For the time being, however, the U.S. appears determined to proceed. Officials have suggested that trouble spots such as Fallujah and Ramadi might be by-passed, but such places could amount to 25 percent of the country and that would severely undermine the credibility of the ballot.
It is likely that the current U.S. firmness is tied to the November presidential elections, and that its stance could change after the U.S. vote, if George Bush is reelected. A revised and perhaps more realistic timetable could then be adopted, especially as violence is expected to escalate further when the election board starts to register an estimated 12 million voters after October 27.....
----------------------
I apologize if this seems confusing....but, basically, a company paid to do nothing but evaluate the situation in Iraq has casually said that Bush is mis-representing the situation in Iraq for the purpose of being elected. Amazing if it is true, and amazing that they would state it so bluntly. But republicans shouldn't worry. Our corporate media is too lazy to report on it.
Kroll Inc, provides daily reports on the situation in Iraq...the White House moved to suppress the distribution of some its reports because they contradicted the White House's fantastic view of Iraq. This was reported in the Washington Post:
U.S. Effort Aims to Improve Opinions About Iraq Conflict
By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 30, 2004; Page A20
The Bush administration, battling negative perceptions of the Iraq war, is sending Iraqi Americans to deliver what the Pentagon calls "good news" about Iraq to U.S. military bases, and has curtailed distribution of reports showing increasing violence in that country.
The unusual public-relations effort by the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development comes as details have emerged showing the U.S. government and a representative of President Bush's reelection campaign had been heavily involved in drafting the speech given to Congress last week by interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Combined, they indicate that the federal government is working assiduously to improve Americans' opinions about the Iraq conflict -- a key element of Bush's reelection message.
USAID said this week that it will restrict distribution of reports by contractor Kroll Security International showing that the number of daily attacks by insurgents in Iraq has increased. On Monday, a day after The Washington Post published a front-page story saying that "the Kroll reports suggest a broad and intensifying campaign of insurgent violence," a USAID official sent an e-mail to congressional aides stating: "This is the last Kroll report to come in. After the WPost story, they shut it down in order to regroup. I'll let you know when it restarts."......
--------------------------------------
so this is a summary from the Kroll Middle East Risk Monitor on Sept. 30th, found here in PDF format Kroll.... (http://www.krollworldwide.com/about/library/merm/)
here is a link to the PDF (I think) Kroll report PDF (http://www.krollworldwide.com/library/merm/MERM_09_30_2004.pdf)
and here is the passage in question:
Iraq: Pessimism Over Election Prospects Continues to Grow
Doubts continued to grow this week over whether elections can take place in January as planned against the current backdrop of relentless violence.
With leading religious figures and political parties voicing doubts or open opposition, prospects for the planned election of a 275-seat constitutional assembly in January receded this week. The leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, warned Iraq has not yet met conditions for fair elections and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a major Shiite political party, also advised against holding the ballot, questioning its legitimacy. The influential Sunni Muslim Committee of Scholars also expressed grave reservations, while the renegade Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for a boycott.
For the time being, however, the U.S. appears determined to proceed. Officials have suggested that trouble spots such as Fallujah and Ramadi might be by-passed, but such places could amount to 25 percent of the country and that would severely undermine the credibility of the ballot.
It is likely that the current U.S. firmness is tied to the November presidential elections, and that its stance could change after the U.S. vote, if George Bush is reelected. A revised and perhaps more realistic timetable could then be adopted, especially as violence is expected to escalate further when the election board starts to register an estimated 12 million voters after October 27.....
----------------------
I apologize if this seems confusing....but, basically, a company paid to do nothing but evaluate the situation in Iraq has casually said that Bush is mis-representing the situation in Iraq for the purpose of being elected. Amazing if it is true, and amazing that they would state it so bluntly. But republicans shouldn't worry. Our corporate media is too lazy to report on it.